08. 09. 2006

TROUBLES PERSIST WITH BROADCASTING LAW

BELGRADE, September 8, 2006 (FoNet) - Rade Veljanovski said that the changes made to the Broadcasting Law show Serbia’s lack of European ideals in the field. Since the adoption of the Broadcasting Law in 2002, problems with its implementation have arisen and a visible lack of implementation of regulations by the Government which passed the regulations has become very noticeable, Journalist Rade Veljanovski writes in a story published in Republika. The last adoption of amendments to the law, signed in late June, occurred at a time when the public lost interest, and shows a continuity of already established relations regarding this question, Veljanovski said. The change that extended the timeframe for the beginning of broadcasting after receiving a license for another 90 days, brings into question the implementation of the law and the work of the Republic Broadcasting Agency, he said. While it is possible that two months is not enough time for the broadcasters to finished preparations, the speed with which these changes were made proves that the Broadcasting Agency council’s made a decision on handing out national frequencies which itself did not believe as possible to achieve, Veljanovski said. “When you add to that what later leaked to the public: that the broadcasters only received programming, and not technical licenses, and that they did not get licenses but only certificates, as a precursor for a license, which the Broadcasting Law does not recognize at all, then it is clear what kind of great confusion has been produced by this.” Veljanovski said.